Paperback

Overview

Up and Down by Oliver Jeffers

From the illustrator of the #1 smash hit The Day the Crayons Quit comes a humorous, resonant tale about the value of shared experiences.

A penguin has wings for a reason . . . doesn't he? Having a best friend with his own airplane is one thing, but actually experiencing what it feels like to fly by himself? Here is one penguin who believes this is precisely what he needs to feel complete. Only . . . if flying by himself is so wonderful, then why does he feel so empty?

Because some experiences are better shared. (And penguins are much happier on the ground.)

Oliver Jeffers delivers the perfect companion to his much-loved Lost and Found. Penguins everywhere will take flight in delight.

Product Details

About the Author

Oliver Jeffers (www.oliverjeffersworld.com) makes art and tells stories. His books include How to Catch a Star; Lost and Found, which was the recipient of the prestigious Nestle Children’s Book Prize Gold Award in the U.K. and was later adapted into an award-winning animated film; The Way Back Home; The Incredible Book Eating Boy; The Great Paper Caper; The Heart and the Bottle, which was made into a highly acclaimed iPad application narrated by Helena Bonham Carter; Up and Down, the New York Times bestselling Stuck; The Hueys in the New Sweater, a New York Times Best Illustrated Book of the Year;and This Moose Belongs to Me, a New York Times bestseller. Originally from Belfast, Northern Ireland, Oliver now lives and works in Brooklyn, New York.

Editorial Reviews

The boy and penguin friends from Lost and Found return, still happily doing everything together. But one day the penguin decides he wants to do something by himself: fly. Unfortunately his wings don't work well enough, and neither does anything else he tries. While looking for some help at the zoo, the penguin spots an ad from a show looking for a living cannonball; someone who has dreamed of flying. Leaving the boy behind, the penguin gets hired. He will finally "fly." But the boy misses him, as he does the boy. The boy sees the "flight" advertised and rushes to the show, just in time to catch his frightened friend. They are happy to go home to "play their favorite game" again together. The friends occupy a surreal world, mostly empty except for the necessary props in a lot of white space. There are also single and double-page naturalistic watercolor scenes of landscapes and the zoo. The penguin resembles a stuffed toy, while the boy has a round head, a box-like body, and stick legs without feet. The writing "was done in pencil." Touches of humor enliven this tale of lasting but unusual friendship. Reviewer: Ken Marantz and Sylvia Marantz

Children's Literature - Ken Marantz and Sylvia Marantz

K-Gr 2—Once upon a time, in a book called Lost and Found (Philomel, 2006), a penguin appeared at a small boy's doorstep. Since that adventure, in which the two traveled to the South Pole in a rowboat, the boy has crash-landed his plane on the moon and rocketed into space to catch a star. In this installment, the fearless, practical, and sympathetic child—drawn as a circle (head), square (striped shirt), and two lines (legs)—is back with his penguin friend. They play Telephone, Parcheesi, and tuba-guitar duets—until the penguin decides that he must learn to fly. "He did own wings after all, although they didn't seem to work very well. But that didn't stop the penguin trying." Quirky watercolor illustrations enrich the plot with examples—e.g., increasingly large balloons tied around the bird's middle, or the penguin leaping from a desk chair mounted atop a dresser while the boy sets out a pillow for a landing pad. A chance sighting of a circus help-wanted poster takes the penguin off on his own and both friends must follow exciting, suspenseful, and wistful paths back to one another. Jeffers has an endearing, deceptively simple style that will warm the hearts of children and adults. An expert draughtsman and a gifted colorist, he creates artwork that is as masterful as it is eccentric. (Devoted readers will be delighted to find pictorial references to his earlier books.) His peculiar plots combine with a saccharine-free sensitivity to the nuances of friendship, making this book just plain special.—Susan Weitz, formerly at Spencer-Van Etten School District, Spencer, NY

School Library Journal

Jeffers revisits Lost and Found (2006), his sweet, muted story of friendship between a penguin and a boy, and he finds equal success with the same mild characters, understated humor, washes of watercolor and succinct, soft narration. Again, empathy emerges as elemental to this interspecies friendship, as the boy tries to help the penguin in his futile efforts to fly. Many failed attempts leave the two looking for answers at a circus, where they inadvertently lose track of each other. A quiet tone balances a relatively action-packed adventure: The penguin finally finds flight as he's shot out of a cannon, and the boy, just having learned his whereabouts, rushes to catch him. Serene white backdrops highlight brilliant compositional choices, while full-page spreads of unconfined color depict dramatic moments with subtle force. Children will intuit, absorb and appreciate this soothing book's heart—the fast, offbeat friendship that makes it so singular and appealing. (Picture book. 2-6)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

I fell in love with this book in the store, without even having a chance to really look through it. When I got it home and had a chance to read it, I was so thrilled that it had called to me. I am convinced that this will be a book that my son and I will treasure forever.

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